Stargazing
by Well of Allsparks
Summary: Young Samuel Witwicky lives far from the light pollution of the city, giving him and his astronomer father a clear view of the skies. This also gives him a clear view of one alien crash landing in the trees nearby, and an open door into a war he could have avoided by simply staying inside. From a kid always getting into trouble to the only human in contact with real aliens.
1. Out After Dark

New Story, yeah. I've been rather fond of this one for a while, so I thought I might choose it to publish. I'm only about halfway through it as of right now, and I'm not about to give any promises that it will be wrapped up in any sort of reliable time. But, I've found that if I have a story published, I have more of an interest in finishing it. I've got over a hundred short stories I begin and never finish, anywhere from a page to fifty pages long, and not a single one is done except the ones I've got on here. So, there it is.

I hope you enjoy this story. Don't own Transformers or any characters therein.

* * *

I doubt there was ever a day when man did not look up at the stars and wonder at their secrets. In one day and age, they were filled with gods and spirits, watching us all and controlling our world. Then they were only twinkling lights whose entire purpose was to revolve around our world and give us light when the sun had revolved too far to reach us. As our planet matured, so has our understanding of the heavens, the cosmos, and the universe.

Now it may be that we know what the stars are, and why it is that the sun disappears for hours on end, but it has always been that humans will stand in the night and simply stare upwards. In the sand, in the grass, on stone or on paved roads, children stand still from their treks and wonder if there is life out there. Adults will glance above them from all over the world and marvel at the beauty of our universe. Standing outside a cave called home or standing on the balcony of a sixth-story loft, that feeling doesn't change.

But, perhaps it can be forgotten. The stars invoke a feeling of wonder and smallness, and from these emotions humans crave answers. The drive that was born from this need for answers has consumed centuries of history, and years of each humans' life. They stop standing in their yard and watching the skies, spending more and more time staring at numbers and figures on computer screens.

From simple, marveling feelings come a vortex. The magic is gone and all is left is that cold, hard truth. Facts and figures, cut and dry, black and white, and no time for stargazing. Some people spend their entire lives trying to make the cosmos relinquish their secrets, and this is what drives our society onward. Advancements in every field, discoveries that bring about world-wide excitement, and tragedies that make the planet cry.

But somewhere behind it all, left behind and forgotten, there is still that lonely child, sitting in the grass- the sand or the city -staring at the sky with a blank mind and wonder in their eyes.

"Get inside, you shouldn't be out so late." I blinked, snapping out of it and looking up to the porch. "Sam, let's go." Dad shut the door and I sighed, sitting up. The sun wasn't even down all the way yet, and he always drags me in by now.

So I grabbed the blanket and my radio, dragging it all up the steps and inside. Maybe some night he'll forget...

"Get inside already." He ushered me in. "I've got a lot to do, and I can't have you outside while I work."

"You're just staring at the sky." I objected with the same argument as every night. "What's the difference?"

"I'm not just staring at the sky, Sam. I'm taking very precise measurements that I need to finish this projec- oh, just go play in your room. Dinner's in the fridge, I'll be down as soon as I finish making rounds." He gave up on me, pushing me towards the living area of the house before walking towards the stairs. His equipment was all up there. I go there to watch him work when I'm bored, but it's not very entertaining. I don't know what makes those machines and computer screens more fascinating than actually looking at the stars.

Sighing, I tossed my stuff on the sofa and walked into the kitchen. The blinds on the back door were pulled open and I looked outside. But all I could see was one of those big satellite dishes slowly moving from commands he was giving it from upstairs. I couldn't see much of the sky, and what I could was blocked out by clouds.

I sighed and opened the refrigerator. A bag of cold sandwiches. Great. Oh well, I decided to just take the whole bag in to the living room and plop down to turn on the television. Science channel, of course. A documentary about the Hubble and the new sector of the universe that it's photographed. I flipped one channel down and tossed the remote, pulling out a sandwich. That's much better. Good old movies, way cooler than a boring documentary.

About half way through my third sandwich and the time the main character- what's his face -lost all his confidence and everything started to look down, but at the same time you're anxious to see if he'll survive it, thunder cracked in the sky. I jumped a mile, dropping the last sandwich and a half on the ground.

"Shoot." I started to pick them up. "Great time to start raining." Wait a minute. Rain? It wasn't supposed to rain tonight. There's barely any clouds in the sky.

Dropping the sandwich bag back onto the couch, I went towards the window again. The sun had completely set, and the clouds that had covered whatever sky I could see around the satellite were gone.

I stuck my head up the stairs, but doubted Dad had even heard it. He wasn't making any noise up there, save for the usual sounds from his machines. They're loud enough when he's taking measurements that he doesn't even hear me shouting from down here.

So I crept towards the back door and stuck my head out. The clouds were even smaller and closer to the horizon now, on the other side of the house. But I hadn't imagined that thunder.

Looking back inside, and when Dad didn't come storming down to make me shut the door, I snuck out and shut it behind me. I can't just go back in there and shrug it off, what if that thunder was an explosion somewhere? There could be a fire in a building, or an accident out there in the forest where no one can help. Or, you know, a meteor.

Just before I entered the trees, I snuck a look back up to the upstairs window, to make sure he hadn't seen me. No, the curtains were still pulled and the blue light inside shifted at constant intervals.

Good. Now where was it? There's no commotion, or anyone shouting. There's no fire, or running wildlife. But it was definitely from this direction. The stars were still, the crickets were playing, and I had no idea where I was going. You know what? I don't even know where I came from. That direction, and I'm sure I could find it, but if I'm not careful I'll get lost.

"Hello?" I called out, listening hard for an answer. "Anyone there?"

Just as I ducked under a dead branch, I heard a hissing sound. Like when dad puts those rocks that he heated up in water when he's trying to get all the bacteria off the surface. I froze, closing my eyes to hear where it came from. It was fading, and a sort of groaning sound was replacing it slowly. This was more like Dad's old bed, creaking when you even walked near it.

That way. I tried to go forward silently now, sneaking up on whatever was there. It wasn't just a meteorite. They don't continue to make more sounds. Maybe someone crashed their car? In the middle of the woods?

As I approached the still slightly-smoking sight of that thunderous noise, I nearly lost my breath. There was a tear-shaped crater with knocked-over trees folded over in the direction of the object that still laid in the heart. This object, about as big as Dad's truck, was the source of the hissing and groaning noises, which were both fading now. It was like a giant tear-shaped, metal rock, only with such vibrant colors! Red and blue, it was like no rock I'd ever seen. And Dad says that meteorites that enter the atmosphere end up real small by the time they hit the ground. How big did this one start? And, if a rock that big hit the Earth, wouldn't there be a bigger crater? A bigger reaction, and bad stuff for miles in every direction?

Suddenly, it started to move. I ducked behind a tree, staring with wide eyes.

The colorful object was changing shape, molding into a completely different something. When it finally settled, it was in the shape of a person. Only, really big and made of red and blue metal. It's, or rather, his back was to me. He stretched like someone who just fell out of bed, and turned to either direction to look around.

I started to back away, sure that I'd stumbled upon something I wasn't meant to see. But my foot slipped from the root I stood on and I fell backwards, head hitting a rock. My vision began to swim, and the ground trembled as that metal giant came closer.

Shoot! Dad was right, I never should have left the house. The last thing I seen before I blacked out completely was a large robotic face, with intelligent blue eyes, and a language I'd never heard before.

When I came too, the first thing I was aware of was how cool it was. It's still night. And my head hurts. What happened? This doesn't feel like my bed, so where am I? I rolled over, groaning. This is grass. Why am I outside? Dad never lets me go out at night-

Oh. Everything came back to me in a rush. The thunder, the crater, and the giant metal man.

I heard a noise, vaguely like words in some language I'd never heard. It was in a metallic voice, and I somehow knew it was directed at me.

Blinking my eyes open, I seen a very different scene from where I'd passed out. The unkempt roots and weeds were gone, and the nearest tree was half bent over about eight feet away. It was a sort of artificial clearing, at the center of which was a huge, tear-shaped crater. I was sitting in the grass just at the head with the giant metal man in the crater, crouching before me. In the crater and crouching at the same time, he still had at least five feet on me.

"Wh-what?" I scooted back, but not too far. My head was pounding when I moved too quickly like that.

This time, I was fully aware that he was speaking to me, in a tone that told me that whatever he said, it wasn't anything like 'I'm going to kill you now, little human'.

"I don't know what you're saying." I shook my head. From his reaction, he didn't know what I was saying either. He tilted his head to one side and stooped closer. He repeated what he'd said, pointing at me and around to the forest. "Ah..."

He stopped there and leaned back, taking a deep breath. He looked around, then back to me and gave an encouraging smile. Well, whatever you are, you're friendly.

"What are you?" I mused, shifting to take a more comfortable position. He spoke again, in that alien language. "An alien, or some sort of government project?" His eyes were too intelligent and his entire being was far too self-aware and independent to have been man made, so I was sure he was alien. "Where are you from?"

He spoke again, gesturing to me, and back to the forest. Yeah... we're not getting anywhere like this. I then remembered a scene from that old movie, Tarzan. Keeping from snorting, I put a hand to my chest.

"I'm Sam." I then pointed to my face. "Samuel, or, just Sam. Sam."

He hesitated a moment, before nodding and repeating in a far more metallic and deep voice, "Sam." Followed by something in his language quickly. He paused and gestured to himself in what I now had proof to be the universal sign of 'My name is'. What followed, however, was a word that I had no hope of repeating. I'm going to say their language wasn't made with human vocal cords in mind. I just blinked, and he chuckled.

"I'll just call you Big Guy." I decided. He, of course, had no idea of what I said, but seemed to shrug it off. "It's a shame you don't know English." I leaned back and looked around then back to him. He'd turned his attention from me and was looking about the forest, and upwards to the stars. "So why are you here? You don't give off the 'take over Earth' vibe."

He glanced down at me, now standing at his full height, and back to his surroundings.

"Are you looking for something? Hey, this is just weird." I can't let Dad know about this guy. Who knows what'll happen? "Hey, Big Guy!" He looked back to me curiously, crouching down. I put my flattened hand to my brow and squinted, looking left and right. "What're you looking for?"

He didn't do anything for a moment, before he assumed what I meant. When he did, he held out a hand closer to me, palm up. I jumped in surprise, before a holograph started to flicker above his palm. It was Earth.

"Yeah, that's this planet alright." I nodded, pointing at the ground. He nodded in agreeance, before the hologram sort of zoomed in on North America, then the United States, and then all the way down to about where we were. That image disappeared, before a holographic cube took it's place, seeming to float in the air and slowly rotating around itself.

"So that's what you're looking for?" I mused, making the 'look for' gesture again. He nodded and took his hand back, saying something in his language. His tone changed, and I got the impression that this was a touchy subject.

After a moment, he paused. Then, "Sam?" I hummed, looking more attentively. He repeated something he'd said earlier, and gestured to the forest again.

"Still no idea what you're wanting there." I stated. "But, ah... hey." I started to get up. "Maybe we should work on that if you're sticking around at all. Maybe I can help with whatever you're doing. I don't know."

He turned away from me again, staring in one direction. I looked that way, starting to hear the footsteps only a little after he did.

"Samuel James Witwicky!" Shoot. Dad's come out to find me. I felt the Earth shift as Big Guy ran the opposite direction quickly. "Where are you? You are grounded for eternity, you know you aren't supposed to come out at night. And you aren't supposed to go in the forest by yourself, especially at night!" Dad came into view. He didn't even notice the crater right behind me. "Get back in the house right now."

"But-"

"No buts! You aren't leaving the house for a year!" He insisted, grabbing my arm. I sighed and rolled my head back.

"Daaaad! It's not my fault, I seen something out here." I looked towards where the alien had gone, and caught sight of blue metal. But Dad didn't notice at all.

"I saw something too. There was an unregistered commit in orbit near Venus. But I had to stop that to go find my son, who's run off!" He glared at me and pulled me along.

"Uuuuhhhhg." I moaned again, following along dutifully. One last glance towards the alien, and I vowed to come back tomorrow.

Back at the house, I was locked up in my room and Dad locked himself in his. We were on opposite ends of the house, and both upstairs. Mine and my bathroom were the only rooms not dedicated to his job up here. Even his bedroom had pages and papers from his computer and other scientists' works all around the walls, with his laptop in the corner that he brings some of his work to bed with. Some people read books before sleep, my Dad reviews work he'd recorded that night.

Just as I was daring to slip out of bed, a blue light ran up and down my room. I nearly hit the wall, I was so surprised. As soon as it hit me, it stopped and disappeared. But then I realized it came from the window and I rushed over, shoving it open.

Big Guy was standing there, stooping to stick his head closer to the window. He spoke quickly when I had it open, in a tone I easily deduced as worry.

"I'm fine." I assured, waving and jabbing a thumb back at my Dad's general direction. "He's just my Dad. Do you need somewhere to stay?"

He stared at me a moment, unsure.

"Really, he's fine." I insisted, smiling. He seemed to understand that I wasn't just kidnapped. "Do you need somewhere to stay the night?" Surely if he had somewhere to be at the moment, or somewhere else to stay, he wouldn't bother with some random kid. He spoke, shortly, and shook his head. Well, I get that one. He still has no idea what I'm saying.

I sighed. I held up a finger, "I'll be right out there." I planned on showing him to the abandoned garage Dad never uses. He used to keep the truck inside, but since Mom died, he hasn't bothered to use it at all. Only reason he used it in the first place was because she kept nagging him. Now, it's just filled with her old stuff that Dad hadn't been able to get rid of or find a use for. She was a high school teacher.

But, my bedroom door was locked from the outside. I groaned in frustration and kicked it. I stopped quickly and put my ear to the door, but luckily, he hadn't stirred. I still heard the constant sound of his equipment running.

Walking back to the window, I shrugged. "Guess I'm stuck, and something tells me you don't take directions."

He said something, and shifted to gesture to the ground outside, and looked back to me questioningly. Did I want out there?

I nodded. "Yeah, I was going to show you where you could stay, if you wanted."

Without warning, he reached through the window and grabbed me. I gasped in surprise and held on. Then, he let me back down on the ground, and I shook my head. He said something, crouching down, and waited. I laughed shakily.

"Give me a warning next time, alight Big Guy? Who am I kidding, you probably did. Not like I'd understand anyways."

He said something and looked around. I shrugged and pointed along the drive way.

"I have no idea what's going on with you, so, all I've got to offer is this." I started walking along. "If you fit, you can hang out in there for however long. Dad never goes in, so you're good there. Or, the road's that way. Though, I don't think you'd want to go that way and attract a bunch of attention."

But he wasn't paying attention anymore. He'd gotten side tracked by Dad's truck, parked along the drive way halfway to the garage. It was a big semi truck, mostly because of moving equipment around from here to the university, and he's got a side gig of working for the university. He transports stuff to and from it as needed.

That same blue light that he'd scanned my room with fell over the truck. I ran up, curious.

"What're you doing? Dad needs that thing, you know-" The light stopped and he turned to me, saying something quickly. He started to walk farther along the drive way like it was a sidewalk, before his entire form started to change again. Just like it had from the rock-looking thing to what he was now, he was now turning into the same truck that he'd just scanned. Only, red and blue instead of grey and red.

"Wow." I gaped, running around. Also, he looked like new, rather than Dad's junk. "That's awesome, you just transformed!" I flinched, lowering my voice and looking back to the house. But nothing seemed to be off, so I assumed Dad was still in his room.

The headlights flashed, and I backed off. He did it again, transforming back into the person-form. He said something, suddenly sounding tired.

I pointed towards the garage, and he looked over. He said something looking to me again. I ran towards the garage and reached inside to the switch that opened and closed it. Flipping it, I showed the door off before leaving it open and gesturing down the other way towards the road. "I don't know exactly what you want here, but you can rest there if you want. And the road's that way, since you'd blend in now."

He looked between it all for a moment, then back to me and said something with a smile. Reaching down to rub the top of my head in a general 'thanks, kid' he then gestured to the garage. I nodded.

Flipping my hand to my forehead like you see in military movies, I casually saluted him. "No problem." I started back to the house. But... the doors were all locked now and I had come out of the second story window.

Glancing back to him, he looked amused. He gestured to the window, saying something. Whatever it was, I nodded to it. He chuckled and reached down to grab me again, walking back up to the house.

He held me up to the window so I could climb in. I turned around and grinned at him, waving.

"Goodnight."

He said something, looked around, and said something else before turning and walking back towards the garage. He transformed and rolled in, before somehow the garage door shut on it's own.

Cool. I've got my own alien robot friend. Imagine that!

* * *

End of the chapter author's note, but nothing really to say so far. I'd love it if you reviewed, but if you don't I won't hold it against you.


	2. Stop Apologizing

I suppose it's been a while. But I have been pretty busy. Running the Planetarium here on campus and fixing up my new apartment, and a bit of everything over the summer. But in any matter, I finally have internet at my apartment! Hizzah! Ergo, I have decided to spend this extra time due to a canceled class posting this. So just in case you thought I have left this place, I'm still here. I'll finish it all eventually.

I don't really have any other updates to mention here. I haven't actually been writing for a while. Or rather, I've been writing original stuff off and on, but FF, not so much. So if any of you want to read those original stories I've been working on- they're about as long and in-depth as my average FF here -then I can put them up on another website. I might eventually, but I'm not really intending to do that too much right now. Though, reviews have been a wonderful resource and motivation source for my FF.

Anywho, here is the next chapter. I don't own Transformers.

* * *

The next morning, Dad had cooled off from last night and asked me what I'd thought I'd seen. I passed it off as a meteor, and he confirmed that one had fallen last night. But it was smaller the way he described it, and he admitted that he should have told me about it. Then he decided I was only grounded for the week, I can't go into town, before he drove off for the university.

I waited ten minutes after he'd gone before rushing down to the garage and putting in the code to open it up.

Big Guy was sitting up in there, looking rather comical with several of Mom's old English text books laying open. But her laptop in the corner was also open with a dozen files open all at the same time. When I came in, he looked over and gave a familiar smile.

"Good morning, Samuel." He greeted in perfect English. I blinked in surprise.

"What, you know English now?" I gaped, not coming any closer.

He chuckled. "Yes, these files have been of much use." He gestured to the computer, which was now shutting down after he withdrew something from it. "Thank you, for this place to stay for the night."

"No problem." I just stared. He sure learns fast. Carefully shifting the laptop shut, he started to come out of the garage before pausing. "So, tell me you have a pronounceable name now?"

He chuckled. "I am Optimus Prime." I nodded, accepting this one. I can totally remember that one. "Is the other human here already gone?" He asked.

"My dad? Yeah, he's off to work." I stepped aside so he could come on out and stand. He was huge.

"Good. I apologize for the entire situation, and if fate is in my favor, I will not be here very long." He looked around. "And I apologize for having already brought you into this. I was hoping to find the Allspark and leave the planet before a lasting impression was made."

"Why are you here?" I asked, glad he'd learned English. No matter the methods.

"I search for this." He held up the hologram of the cube again. "The Allspark. A large, powerful object that gives off immense energy. Do you know of any such thing in this planet?"

I stared at it once again, and shook my head. "No, sorry."

"It's alright." He sighed. "I've already started searching using the World Wide Web." He mused. "I fear it's presence here will bring as much misfortune for this planet as it had ours. The sooner it's brought back, the better."

"Well, I'll help." I volunteered. "I don't know how, but I'll help."

He looked at me skeptically. "Judging from how the other human took you last night, whom you now identify as your father, he does not want you being out."

"Naw, it's just he doesn't like me being out at night. Or in the forest any time." I shrugged it off. "Or, pretty much anywhere off the property right now, 'cause I'm grounded..." I trailed off.

He chuckled. "I'd rather you stayed far from this struggle as possible, Samuel. But I thank you again for your assistance thus far."

"You're welcome." I blinked. "Good luck."

"Thank you."

I watched him drive away, rather satisfied. I'd helped him, and at least I'd gotten to know an alien. I mean, how many other kids can say they've met an alien? Well, truthfully?

That's how I got to be sitting in the living room, bored to death and wishing I'd have known more about that Optimus Prime. Like, where'd he come from? What's the Allspark? Why was it on Earth? What misfortune was he talking about? Why is he so frantic to find it so quickly? Who was he? He told his name, but, who was he? Was he really such a good-guy as he came off? So many questions, and here I was, sitting in my living room like some lazy kid.

Pretty soon, as afternoon settled in the air and I finished my homework- yes I was that bored -I heard an engine pull up to the house. They pulled up quicker than Dad normally would, but it sounded about as large as his, so I assumed it was Optimus come back.

I rushed outside, wondering why he was back, but stopped short when the heavy-duty, green SUV started to change shape the same way Optimus Prime had.

I took several steps back, staring with wide-eyes as his red ones locked on me.

"A-are you a friend of Optimus Prime's?" I asked, unsure. Whoever he was, he just laughed and spoke that alien language before grabbing me. I winced in pain, feeling my ribs creak in strain. Something tells me that's a no.

The next thing I knew, everything went black.

When I came too, the first thing I felt was deja vu. This is the second time in twenty-four hours that I've been knocked unconscious. My head hurt horribly this time, and so did my ribs.

The next thing I managed to take note of was the pain all around my ribs. I groaned and clutched at them, wondering why I always seemed to be waking up hurt.

Then, the alien voices hit me. They were angry, and they were directed at me. When I managed to sit up and look around, I was met with the green one with red eyes glaring at me. He paused in his rant, as if expecting something of me, before hitting the ground just before me and growling angrily.

A grey one with the same eye color said something behind him, and they got into some sort of argument. I scooted back slowly, heart beating a million miles an hour. The alien I first met was by no means a 'take over Earth and commit human genocide' kind of alien. But these guys, I could buy it from them.

"I'm going to assume you aren't friends of Optimus Primes..." I shuddered, when they both stopped abruptly. They stared at me, then the grey one looked away. They were listening intently, but it didn't last much longer.

They exploded into another argument, in which the green one grabbed me and they started running out of whatever abandoned building we'd been in. I whimpered at the pressure on my already aching rib cage, and clutched my arms around my head to avoid whiplash as I was swung around. Keeping my eyes shut tightly, I waited for the motion to stop. Just... what's going on here?!

There was an explosion nearby, and everything settled to a stop. I heard a new voice speak that alien language, and I frowned. That voice... it was familiar...

Bug Guy- I mean, Optimus Prime! I opened my eyes and found my new friend standing there, a very large gun for a hand, aimed directly at the aliens that had kidnapped me. He didn't look very happy, either.

They exchanged a few words, the one holding me laughed and squeezed. I shouted out and tried to push at his fingers, but he didn't relent. Optimus Prime said something, and without warning, he fired.

The grip on me loosened considerably, before it tightened again and I threw my arms up to avoid whiplash once again. From what few scenes I dared to open my eyes for, mere seconds at a time, I gathered that they were fighting. The grey one disappeared off somewhere.

All of the sudden, the green one fell backwards, onto the ground. I heard an 'OAHF' of sorts, before I was thrown upwards.

Another hand caught me, I heard several shots fired, before a very odd thing happened; I was suddenly in the cabin of a vehicle very much resembling Dad's truck. Only... newer.

Two or three minutes later, I realized I wasn't hearing anything not because no one was talking, but because my head was still swimming from what just happened. Blinking, my brain started to finally catch up and I gasped, falling forward to hit my head on the dashboard. I was in the middle of the seat, narrowly avoiding the steering wheel- which shifted to it's own accord -with my face. My arms wrapped around my middle.

"Samuel!" Optimus's voice finally hit me, and I got the idea this wasn't the first time he'd shouted at me. "Can you hear me?"

"Uhhhh, yessss." I moaned.

There was a silence, and the speedometer lowered slightly. I heard what was surely a sigh, before he spoke again.

"Thank Primus. Pick a side, Samuel. Buckle in."

Without questioning him, or the situation, I obeyed and slid to the passenger's side automatically. That's where I sit with Dad's truck, so I didn't even think about sitting behind the wheel.

"What... just happened?" I finally asked, gripping the seat belt for dear life.

"I'd foolishly assumed my association with you had gone unnoticed, or would be ignored. I'm sorry, Samuel." He sounded regretful. "I hadn't expected them to go after you."

"Them who?" I demanded. "Who was that? Why did they go after me?"

"They are the Decepticons, and they seek the Allspark also. They must have traced my own signal to your home and realized we were associated. They were trying to use you against me. I am very sorry."

"Would you stop apologizing and give me an explinatio- where are we?"

The scenery outside was nothing I'd ever seen. There were no forests, or ponds, or small towns. We were in a big city, and I've just seen two of the same fast-food joints in the last two minutes.

"South Gate." He answered promptly. "Sixty-eight miles west of your home."

I moaned and fell forward again, pressing my forehead to the dashboard once more. Only this time, it was intentional and wouldn't leave behind a new bruise.

"Are you alright?" He demanded quickly, speeding up again.

"I'm fine." I lied, clutching myself around the middle. I'm sure happy I knew this guy, even if this all happened because I knew him.

"You need a medic." He denied. "You've got two fractured ribs and a concussion."

"I don't want to go to the hospital." I moaned, not removing my head from it's rest. My eyes were clenched tight, and I had this itchy, hot feeling spreading through me. I wanted to go back to sleep.

"I'm not taking you to a hospital, Samuel." His voice was a bit off. "More of my men are scheduled to land tonight, including my medic. The Decepticons have also infected you with a slow-moving energon-based acid. No human doctor will help now."

"You've got to be kidding me." I breathed. I felt the air kick on, chilled air hitting my skin raised goosebumps.

"This is all my fault. I never, ever intended for anyone to get hurt in this. I've done a terrible job in repaying you for your assistance."

"..."

"Tonight?" I shot up quickly as something he said earlier hit me. I hissed at the pain in my ribs and he sped up again.

"Yes, some of my men will land then. We're on our way to the landing sight now."

I looked out the window, recognizing dusk in the sky. Dad should be home by now, and he's going to be so angry when he realizes I'm not there again.

"Dad..."

"Your father has already been informed of your absence. I left a message on the communication's device at your home's signature explaining you would return tomorrow."

"Did you say what happened?"

"I thought it to be something better explained in person."

"Did you say who you were?"

"I doubted that would help the situation."

"I'm going to be grounded until I die." I moaned, leaning forward once more. He slowed to a stop, and judging from how he idled there without moving, we'd hit a red light.

"I apologize again, Samuel."

A minute passed by, and he started to roll forward again. I heard a siren bleep behind us, and I looked up. A cop car was flashing us.

"You've got to pull over." I stated in a passing, figuring he probably didn't know what the cop wanted.

Without a word, Optimus Prime pulled to the side of the road, and the cop car stopped behind us. Only after I heard the door behind us shut did I realize there was no one sitting in the driver's seat.

But, by the time the officer tapped on the driver's side glass, there was a man with short brown hair, probably about forty or so, sitting behind the wheel. He didn't move, having already been looking out the window, but it rolled down on it's own.

Is it a hologram? It looks so real.

"Do you know how fast you were going back there?" The officer asked.

"Ah..." Optimus wasn't sure how to respond.

"Twenty miles over the speed limit. Don't tell me you didn't know." He glared. I opened my mouth to help, but a cough came out before words could. The man sitting beside me jumped, looking over quickly with an expression of concern. That in itself surprised me, and I kept my mouth shut a moment longer.

"What's wrong with him?" The officer demanded, voice softening a little.

Optimus hesitated a moment, before turning back out the window. "My son is hurt. I was taking him to the hospital."

The officer was obviously surprised, and I hid my own by pressing my head back down on the dashboard. Leaning over like this helped the pain in my ribs.

"I see. You should have called an ambulance, rather than acting like your own. I'll let you off now, he doesn't look too good." Did I really look that bad? A cop letting us off scotch free like that? "I'll escort you to the hospital, then."

"That won't be necessary." Optimus responded quickly. "We're almost there."

The cop looked away, I'm assuming in the direction we were headed. "Right. Then, get him in the ER, then. And call an ambulance next time, or abide by the speed laws."

He walked away, and when the flashing lights behind us shut off, I lifted my head to see the world starting to disappear behind us again.

"How'd you do that?" I wondered, coughing a bit more. That terrible, warm feeling- which I assumed was the acid he'd mentioned earlier, was giving me an antsy feeling that I couldn't sit still. And yet, if I moved, I wanted to cough my lungs out, which only made my ribs hurt worse.

"A quick search on the World Wide Web on Earth road customs, and location of local medicinal buildings." he responded. The man sitting beside me disappeared. "How are you feeling?" He knew the coughing hadn't been fake.

"Like pit." I moaned again. This time he didn't speed up, but he didn't say anything either.

As he sped on, and the short distances and quick turns faded into longer stretches of straight road, I assumed we'd left the city. I knew I should probably resent him, or be angry with him, because not only did his presence cause me to get kidnapped by giant, alien, psychopaths, but he also just kidnapped me. But all I could think about was how grateful I was that I'd made friends with a nice alien, who happened to be pretty badass back there to save me from those red-eyed ones.

He didn't seem the type to anger quickly or anything, but those guys back there sure pissed him off.

* * *

Please, tell me what you think. Most of the time, I get around to posting a new chapter because of reviews/favorites/follows. And because I can, and it's a partial inspiration for this story, you should all attend a planetarium showing. They're beautiful, wonderful, and if they're like ours, they do videos. Full dome videos are amazing, and it's just a great experience. Many showings are free, by the way. If you're in the area, check out Peterson Planetarium.


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